At some point, this starts to look like a desperate cry for attention. Tennessee notified the NCAA and the SEC recently that it committed several secondary recruiting violations, notably allowing recruits to sit in on a mock press conference and using a fog machine when a recruit entered Neyland Stadium.This is on the heels of Volunteers coach Lane Kiffin having to apologize to a Florida high school and apologize for falsely claiming Florida coach Urban Meyer committed a recruiting violation before boosters at a recruiting celebration. Plus he's drawn the ire of South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier and famously boasted of having the best coaching staff in America.
This edition of Egos Gone Wild won't cost you $9.99, but it does seem to be the gift that keeps on giving to amused college football fans everywhere. Everyone and their uncle knows the NCAA cracked down on the various elaborate stadium entrances with public address announcers, scoreboard lights, fog machines and so on. Kiffin last spent time at recruiting power USC, which clearly knows the rules.
Do the math. This was a knowing violation, one that former coworker Steve Sarkisian -- also a former USC coach -- recently got dinged for at his new position as Washington's head coach. It reminds me of the scene from Jurassic Park where they have caged several velociraptors who deliberately get themselves shocked in testing the overall defensive ability of their holding pen.
Predictably, some voices are starting to come down on Kiffin. Gregg Doyel came out with an over-the-top screamer of an article against Kiffin recently. Alabama's famous Paul Finebaum -- a Tennessee alum --also came down hard on him saying the school needs to cut ties with Kiffin.
Since Lane Kiffin has become constant news, I point you towards his tag page here at FanHouse. Like a Chia Pet, give it some water and watch it grow!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-11-2009 @ 1:44PM
bobby said...
Pitiful...and very funny. Go SEC! Go Gators!!
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2-11-2009 @ 5:35PM
Thursday Night! said...
I thought Al Davis was a wacky one... but now I know Lane Kiffin is DELUSIONAL! What a shame for Tennessee to hire this guy. It's beginning to become much more clear on who Lane really is.
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2-11-2009 @ 10:48PM
jaybee12000 said...
Kiffin speaks as everyone listens
Tennessee head football coach Lane Kiffin was on his best behavior Wednesday afternoon as he spoke at the Big Orange Tip-Off Club, his first public speech since last week's firestorm from the recruiting celebrations.
And Kiffin wanted everyone to know it.
"We'll make sure that we don't offend anyone in the conference or any other school," Kiffin said as he took the podium. "We'll be very nice."
But the 33-year-old head coach was not in a shell and wasn't exactly backing off from anything.
"I like to have fun with some things," Kiffin said. "The example I can give you is that Steve Spurrier came out the first day I was here and accused me of recruiting without having passed the test (as required by the NCAA).
***** DING DING DING***** "I didn't call the (SEC) commissioner whining about it. I just shot back at him, joking around with him. We'll make sure we're aware of how sensitive people are around here." *****DING DING DING*****
The event, which drew a packed house, was full of laughs over last week's events. Tennessee head basketball coach Bruce Pearl joked he was in attendance because he was curious to see what Kiffin had to say. Pearl noted that Kiffin had gotten done in one week what it took him a year to do -- namely become the least popular coach in the SEC.
Kiffin, who smiled and laughed at every comment, even got in the act when one of the event organizers planted a call on his cell phone and turned to Kiffin telling him it was Urban Meyer on the phone. Kiffin stood, grabbed the phone and left the room acting as if he was talking to Meyer.
Wednesday the message was clear, Kiffin's confidence has not wavered. He is not backing down, and he feels the message his actions have sent to his football team has created a positive.
"Here's the point of it: This is about our players. We're not going to win any games without them ... If it took that stuff to get that done, it's working. And if it took that stuff to get our players motivated at 5:30 in the morning, it's working. I like the way it's going."
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2-12-2009 @ 12:51PM
Bud Foster said...
Who screwed up the worst, Tennessee or Auburn? I'm a Gator fan but I also like UT and AU. I hate to see the programs fade.
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2-12-2009 @ 1:52PM
Shannon Fain said...
Screwed up?? if anything both programs are doing very good so far... both pulled a lot of recruits from other schools in a very short time.
2-12-2009 @ 2:10PM
Bud Foster said...
After Kiffin gets fired in 2-3 three years, he can be a stand-up comedian. I hope he does well for the Vols but he's a showboat.
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2-13-2009 @ 5:43PM
JBG said...
Why is this a surprise, this is a UT type person!
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2-14-2009 @ 6:40PM
Chuck said...
Pathetic.
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2-15-2009 @ 1:50AM
elhminc said...
i like it.now it gives the gators a better reason to run the score up more next season.its pritty apparent that lane knows nothing about the sec.its the best conferance in the country and all the coaches respect each other a lot. so thank you lane.
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2-17-2009 @ 12:23PM
MIKE said...
Beware of Greeks bearing gifts..Kiffen is young, energetic and intelligent. Could be he is showing his team how to get some pride in his antics. I was a Phil Fulmer fan for many years..Phil got predictable and complaicent in a game played as much with talent as with wits sometimes a different approach is necessary. Give him a chance people, he has not coached his first game in Tennessee. At least his actions are agressive and that is something we have not seen in a tennessee football team in a long time.
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